Terrebonne passes 2013 budget

The Terrebonne Parish Council approved the 2013 parish budget Wednesday night with little discussion.The budget is $203 million, up about 4 percent from this year’s $196 million spending plan. The budget for parish operations, excluding construction projects, comes to about $193 million. Parish officials cited higher sales-tax revenue this year and an increase in property-tax money next year for the ability to spend more.The new budget aims to improve the parish’s roads, drainage and coastal-restoration efforts.Parish employees got a 3 percent raise last year but will not receive raises in 2013. Also, the premiums parish employees pay for health insurance will increase by 5 percent over the next three years.Some of the major projects in the budget include $500,000 to repave Thompson Road from La. 56 to La. 57, $2.8 million for Bayou LaCarpe drainage improvements and $447,000 for repairs to the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center roof. Also in the budget are plans to set aside $630,000 for a skate park and $100,000 for public-safety programs that include spending $25,000 for crime cameras in Houma.About $3.3 million will go toward coastal-restoration projects.At the meeting, Houma resident Floyd Bergeron said he’s fine with the parish tackling “a big bunch of projects,” but he doesn’t want smaller projects overlooked. Bergeron said many residential streets still have problems that need fixing. “What I want to address is that small jobs are needed to be done,” he said. “I got a place at 225 Kelly St., and all up and down my street it floods.”The parish is working with a multimillion-dollar budget, Bergeron said, and some of that money can be spent on smaller projects. Parish President Michel Claudet said he would be happy to look into Bergeron’s concerns.